![]() Retro has hit the perfect difficulty spike for Tropical Freeze continuing from what Returns did right. In fact I only ever used Diddy if that was my only choice or by accident as I otherwise never actually had a reason to choose him over Dixie. Through most of my playthrough I spent my time playing with Dixie as her abilities far surpass Diddy and Cranky’s. Diddy helps to keep you hovering for longer, Dixie adds a form of double jump and Cranky uses his cane like a pogo stick to jump on enemies and little spikes in the ground. At different points each character has their use but mostly they are used for their additional jumping abilities. As usual we got to see Diddy as a supporting character, but we also got to see the return of Dixie and the introduction of Cranky as a playable character. The ability to change supporting characters is one of the best changes Retro has made to the games as we got to see new ways to play and new opportunities for challenge. Particularly when I came across themes I recognized from the older games which have been brilliantly redone, such as the beautiful Aquatic Ambiance. Most levels have some fantastic music to them which is a joy to listen to and make me want to stop just to listen to each one. Retro Studios has gotten hold of Donkey Kong Country music master David Wise to create some beautiful and well done scores behind each level. For the purposes of barrel blasting, rocket barrel riding, and riding mine carts the camera added to each level by providing great opportunity to see the amazing design and also provide new challenges such as changing rails and barrel blasting across locations. It doesn’t appear very often but in a selection of levels it adds a new challenge as well as providing some great views. One of the best additions to the game is the dynamic camera which adds new depth to each level it appears in. These may be the standouts for me but each level holds a special place that makes them all fun. In one particular level you must ride a mine cart through a sawmill which builds the obstacles out in front of you and halfway through turns into a raft ride, another has you running through a burning savannah requiring that you at times put out fires to proceed, another has you running across a savannah with it dancing to the music and another that literally builds as you go through the level. While many of the levels in the game do feel diverse there are definitely a few standouts among the bunch. ![]() It is a little thing but I was glad to see Donkey Kong able to swim again and so fluently that it makes levels more interesting. As you journey across islands levels hold the theme of the African savannah, the traditional jungle, the frozen Donkey Kong island, an island filled with fruit based levels from a fruit factory and even the return of underwater levels. At no point does any level feel repetitive or like you have been there previously as each level usually adds something new to keep things interesting right up until the end of the game. Set across 6 islands, each island provides a diverse theme from the other islands and this continues into the very design itself for each level. Level design is key to creating a fun and stable 2D platformer and at all turns Tropical Freeze does this right. In the blow of a horn they freeze Donkey Kong’s island and send Donkey Kong and his friends flying across the ocean and they must start their journey back to save their home. During this little bit everything seems at peace on DK island but as you would expect this peace is short lived as suddenly from across the water comes a new series of arctic animals which are the enemies known as the Snowmads. But even with that I still felt compelled to give the ape another shot and I am glad I did as Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze recaptures the magic of the older games while adding to it to create one of the best 2D platformers in a long time.ĭonkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze begins with Donkey Kong and friends Diddy, Dixie and Cranky celebrating Donkey Kong’s birthday. In fact it has been 15 years since I last really enjoyed a Donkey Kong game and that was Donkey Kong 64. I must be the odd one of the Donkey Kong fan base, while many praised Donkey Kong Country Returns in 2010 on the Wii I found I couldn’t have cared less about it as I didn’t really enjoy it. ![]() This review was originally published on on the 11th of March.
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